Why Audio Advertising Works for Retail: Reaching Shoppers When It Matters Most

Retail is a game of timing, emotion, and presence. You need to reach the right consumer with the right message – often at the exact moment they’re making a decision. For years, retailers have leaned on visual ads, promotions, and social media. But one powerful channel is still underutilized in many retail strategies: audio.

Whether it’s a podcast, a streaming playlist, a local radio spot, or a personalized smart speaker ad, audio advertising delivers a unique advantage for retail brands – one rooted in attention, mobility, and trust.

Today’s shoppers are constantly listening. In the car, while working, at the gym, during errands – audio is one of the few channels that travels with people throughout their day. In fact, according to Edison Research’s Share of Ear report, the average American spends over 4 hours a day with audio content, with over 70% of that time spent with ad-supported platforms like AM/FM radio, podcasts, and streaming audio.

For retailers, this means one critical thing: you can reach potential customers even when they’re not looking at a screen or walking through a store.  

Audio Drives Action, Not Just Awareness

Audio is more than a top-of-funnel tool. When it’s done right, it moves people to act. According to Nielsen’s 2025 Audio Advertising Effectiveness Report, audio ads drive an average 24% lift in store visitation intent among retail listeners, with even higher lifts for convenience, apparel, and big-box categories. 

Because audio often reaches consumers when they’re mobile or running errands, the conversion window is shorter. That geo-temporal relevance, combined with smart targeting, makes audio a powerful driver of both foot traffic and e-commerce engagement.

Retailers using audio have seen:

• Increased coupon redemptions and promo code usage.
• Higher cart conversions during limited-time offers.
• Brand recall that lasts beyond the listening session.

It’s Personal & Trusted

One of audio’s biggest advantages? It feels personal.

Listeners choose what they hear. They develop relationships with voices they trust: podcast hosts, radio DJs, even curated playlists. When your brand shows up in these spaces, it’s not interrupting, it’s participating. That’s why host-read podcast ads consistently outperform visual ads on trust and engagement – and why heavy podcast listeners are 60% more likely than average to purchase advertised products online, and 71% more likely to purchase in-store, according to Audacy. 

Plus, audio is screenless, which means it reaches customers when they’re otherwise unavailable to visual media. It adds a layer to your omnichannel marketing that fills the gaps between Instagram swipes and in-store signage.

Audio Fits Retail’s Need for Speed and Scale

Retail is fast-paced. Campaigns change weekly. Offers expire. Seasons shift. Audio offers flexibility to match that pace with options such as:

• Dynamic ad insertion, allowing creative to update by location, time of day, or inventory level.
• Geotargeted streaming and podcast ads, perfect for regional offers or store-specific events.
• Smart speaker integrations, where listeners can add products to a cart or request store hours with a simple voice command.

And as machine learning tools become more sophisticated, it’s easier than ever to scale creative variations, match messaging to micro-audiences, and optimize campaigns in real time without sacrificing quality.

Real Retail Results

We’ve helped retail brands translate audio into measurable growth. One standout example is our work with American Giant.

By 2024, American Giant faced increasing competition in the premium apparel space. To maintain momentum and scale customer acquisition, the brand needed a fresh approach to media that could engage new audiences, drive efficiency, and convert intent into action. Together, we launched a multi-platform audio strategy that blended high-impact host-read podcast ads with data-driven programmatic buys and AI-informed audience targeting.

The campaign spanned trusted radio and streaming platforms, as well as highly relevant podcast genres, where influential host endorsements could build trust quickly. We localized messaging, used historical audience affinity data, and tapped into new customer segments. The results were significant: American Giant saw a 192% increase in podcast-driven revenue and a 23% lift from programmatic audio, achieving its strongest performance to date with low cost per order, high order volume, and exceeded ROAS goals.

Audio didn’t just complement the brand’s retail strategy – it accelerated it. And importantly, it showed that contextually relevant, strategically placed audio can drive real business outcomes, not just impressions. 

Ready to Tap into Audio?

Whether you’re a national brand or a regional chain, the key is pairing the right creative with the right placements – backed by strategy, not guesswork.
If you’re ready to explore how audio can move your customers to act, we’re here to help. Our team specializes in smart, scalable audio campaigns that connect with shoppers and convert attention into sales. Let’s talk about your next retail campaign.